Amid difficult weather conditions and on an even more challenging course, Federica Brignone (ITA) re-claimed her spot atop the Alpine skiing podium by winning super-G gold in Cortina on Thursday. Her time of 1:23.41 bested a 43-athlete field of the world's top speed racers.
With the victory, Brignone became the oldest gold medalist, man or woman, in the sport's Olympic history (35).
What makes the accomplishment truly legendary is that the "Snow Tiger" threw down the run of her life only 10 months after she broke multiple bones in her left leg. The injury required two different surgeries and significant rehab. Until late 2025, it wasn't clear if she would be ready physically for the Games.
Still, Brignone, an Olympic flag bearer, was able to pull off the feat on home snow in front of a raucous Italian crowd. The gold was the first of her career and fourth Winter Games medal overall.
Romane Miradoli (FRA) secured silver (+0.41), and in the process, made some personal history. It was the 31-year-old's first Olympic medal.
Rounding out the top three was Cornelia Huetter (AUT), who took bronze by a fraction of a hair (+0.52). Her fellow countrywoman Ariane Raedler (AUT), winner of the team combined two days prior, finished one-hundredth of a second behind.
The Tofane ski course played a significant role as a living, breathing character in the movie that was Thursday’s race day. The top of the piste was shrouded in clouds and sprinkled with a light snow. Still, that was the area of the mountain that gave the super-G’ers the least amount of trouble.
Midway through the track, the racers encountered sharp turns on rolling, uneven terrain. The navigation was made trickier with the flat lighting; a dimness that minimized the contrast of colors and surfaces so that gates and rolls were more difficult to discern.
As a result, 17 athletes did not finish (DNF’d) the race, which is an abnormally high number for a super-G.
After a day off for the Alpine skiers, they will return to the starting gate on Saturday for the men’s giant slalom. Run 1 will begin at 4 a.m. ET, with Run 2 following at 7:30 a.m. ET.